Screams In The Night
by dreamsofyesterday1
Summary: Part 5 of the Robyn series. Horrific nightmares hit the residents of Lazytown with untold consequences. This is a bit spooky so make sure you have a pillow to hide behind. Rated M for caution. Some violence included
1. Prologue

Screams in the Night

Disclaimer: All usual disclaimers apply. Robyn, Lily and Doctor Nichols are my own creations as is Greentown.

Part five of the 'Robyn' series.

With a silent scream Sportacus bolted upright in bed, sweat drenching him and his sheets. His breath came in rapid gasps and he was trying very hard to calm down. He tried feebly to shake off the nightmare he'd just had but the very thought of it made him tremble. After five minutes and a lot of deep breaths Sportacus was sufficiently calmed and decided it would be a good idea to change his sheets and clothes as they were soaked.

Robyn wasn't in the airship at the time of Sportacus' nightmare; she was sleeping at the Mayor's house after a 'girl's night in' with Stephanie and Bessie. All three women were safely ensconced on the sofa after falling asleep while watching a movie. The movie had long finished and static was all that showed on the TV. Robyn stirred and woke up; she could feel nature calling her and ambled sleepily to the bathroom after turning off the unwatched TV.

Robyn yawned as she turned off the bathroom light; she'd done what she had to do and was debating whether or not to go to bed in the spare room or rejoin the others on the sofa. Deciding it was best to join the others Robyn started to head back to the living room but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a strange sound coming from the bathroom. Robyn quietly crept back to the bathroom, she was curious about the noise which had now stopped. Closing the bathroom door to before turning on the light Robyn gasped when she saw a word written in what looked blood and a bloody handprint on the mirror. She walked closer to the mirror to get a better look at the word. Tracing the letters with her finger she read the word, it read:

Lily.

Robyn gasped and was about to turn away when a pair of bloody hands shot the mirror and sent shards of glass flying everywhere. Robyn screamed as the hands pulled her towards the mirror and a bloody head followed the hands and bit deep into her cheek. The head drew back but the hands still pulled Robyn closer and closer to the mirror. Robyn screamed again, her cheek burning and she tried to fight the relentless hands with an iron grip. Robyn wrenched one of her hands free and tried to pull against the hands pulling her to certain death but her hand slipped on the blood and her palm was driven deeply on a broken shard of glass still stuck to the mirror. The hands pulled and pulled but when voices were heard outside the bathroom the hands let go and disappeared back to where they'd come from. With the hands letting go so suddenly Robyn fell to the ground and landed on the broken glass scattered across the floor, wrenching sobs shaking her whole body.

Bessie, Stephanie and the Mayor were woken by screams coming from the bathroom and all ran to see what was going on. The mayor tried opening the door but it was jammed shut. Stephanie told the Mayor and Bessie to stand back and gave a powerful kick to the door which threw it open. When they looked inside the sight they saw sent shivers down their spines.

Robyn was lying in the middle of the room on a bed of broken glass, crying. Blood was smeared on the floor from the numerous cuts Robyn had received when the mirror had broken and when she'd fallen on the floor. Her palm and cheek were bleeding heavily and once he'd gotten over his initial shock the Mayor went into the bathroom and carefully helped Robyn to her feet.

"Bessie, run some hot water and get some towels. Stephanie, send a letter to Sportacus and get him down here as soon as possible." The Mayor ordered and when everyone had gone to their respective tasks he led Robyn to the kitchen.

Bessie had the water and towels ready and helped the Mayor get Robyn into one of the chairs. The poor girl was now shaking uncontrollably and looked deathly pale. The Mayor was extremely concerned for Robyn and thought she needed more help than he could give her. Taking a close look at the glass embedded in Robyn's hand the Mayor tried to work out a method of pulling it out. With Robyn shaking so much it wouldn't be easy and if his hand slipped it could be fatal.

Sportacus came running into the Mayor's house with Stephanie following close behind. He'd still been sorting his bed out when the letter had come through the floor and the instant it had he knew something was dreadfully wrong.

When Sportacus saw Robyn tears shot immediately to his eyes. Her face was covered in tiny cuts of which some were deeper than others. Tears coursed down her cheeks and blood ran in small rivulets down her arms where they too had been cut by the glass. All it took for Sportacus for act was the sight of the glass shard sticking out of Robyn's hand; he picked her still shaking form up and ran with her to the airship.

"Where are you going?" Stephanie called to Sportacus as he started climbing the ladder with Robyn hanging over his shoulder.

"Greentown. She needs to see a Doctor. I'll let you know how things go."


	2. In the hospital

The flight to Greentown had seemed painfully slow even though it took the normal amount of time to get there. When Sportacus had carried Robyn into the emergency room of the hospital the staff had raced into action at the sight of Robyn's injuries. Robyn's cuts were still bleeding and her pallor hadn't improved at all. Her body was still shaking but not as badly as before.

Sportacus was surprised to see a familiar and old face that he'd not expected see here twelve years distant from the last time he'd seen it. It was Doctor Nichols and he obviously recognised Sportacus and his patient.

"What happened?" Doctor Nichols asked whilst carrying out a preliminary examination of Robyn.

"I never asked. The way she was shaking and how she looked shocked me so much I brought her here almost straight away." Sportacus answered plainly.

"In half a way you did the right thing. She's in extreme shock and these cuts need to be dealt with." Doctor Nichols turned to a nurse who was standing a little way behind him, "Nurse; get some bandages, swabs, antiseptic wipes, gloves, forceps, a local anaesthetic, ten CCs of morphine and a sedative for me please." The nurse did as she was instructed and left to find what had been asked for.

Doctor Nichols turned back to his patient; it had been twelve years since he'd seen Robyn but still recognised her. He guessed she was sixteen years old now and had grown extremely well.

The nurse returned and Doctor Nichols put the gloves on that he'd asked for. Once he'd prepared everything the way he wanted it and made sure the nurse was ready to assist him he turned back to Robyn, "Robyn, I'm going to give you an injection in your hand. It's only a small one and will make it a lot less painful when I remove this piece of glass from your palm. If it hurts when I start pulling it out tell me, ok?"

Robyn gave Doctor Nichols no response and he looked at Sportacus with concern showing plainly on his face. It wasn't looking good. Doctor Nichols put the needle in Robyn's hand and injected the anaesthetic; he was even more concerned when Robyn didn't even flinch when the needle was put in. Using the forceps Doctor Nichols gently prised the glass from Robyn's hand; the nurse immediately placed a piece of swabbing on the palm before the blood could seep onto the sheets.

"That was easy wasn't it, Robyn? Now that's out we'll clean up those wounds and get them bandaged. After that I'm going to give you a small injection of morphine because I know you're in pain. Once we've done all this I'll give you a sedative to help you sleep." Doctor Nichols explained.

Again Robyn gave no response; it was as if she was lost in her own little world.

"Nurse, can I leave you to clean the cuts and do the bandaging? I need to speak to Mr Sportacus. Come and find me when the bandaging is finished as you're not authorised to do morphine."

The nurse nodded and set straight to work. Doctor Nichols took Sportacus off to one side and into a deserted corridor. Looking up and down the corridor Doctor Nichols made sure that they couldn't be overheard, what he had to say to Sportacus was extremely sensitive.

"As I said before she's in extreme shock. It's highly unusual for someone to give no reaction at all to a needle prick and especially no reaction to a piece of glass being removed which was so deep it was touching the bone. Despite the anaesthetic she should have given some sort of reaction. I wouldn't say she's at the point of being withdrawn but if she doesn't start responding to stimuli and doesn't improve I have only one course of action to take." Doctor Nichols spoke the last words reluctantly, the course of action he had to take wasn't ideal but it was the best in the long run for Robyn.

"What is it?" Sportacus asked with a hint of dread in his voice.

"I'll have to refer her to the safe house in Crazytown," Doctor Cranium saw Sportacus' reaction to this and explained himself before Sportacus could butt in, "we don't have the facilities to take care of Robyn in this state. Whatever happened to her scared the wits out of her. They can give her all the treatment she needs at Crazytown; if it comes to it they can even erase this event from her memory if conventional psychology doesn't help. I know sending her to that place isn't ideal but it's the best thing for her. She'll get better there."

Sportacus nodded. He understood what Doctor Nichols was saying but still didn't like the idea. "Will I be able to visit her?"

"Of course. There are strict visiting times however and it might be upsetting the first few times you go. We'll see how Robyn is in the morning before I make the referral." Doctor Nichols laid his hand on Sportacus' shoulder and smiled thinly.

Both men turned to look at the nurse as she entered the corridor, she'd done her job and it was Doctor Nichols turn again to do his.

Sportacus sat sleeping in a chair next to Robyn's bedside. It was very early in the morning and he was tired. Robyn slept peacefully in the bed but the sedative was wearing off and she was coming back to wakefulness. Robyn slowly opened her eyes, she wasn't sure where she was and why her arms and face hurt so much. Sportacus woke up as well as if he was tuned to Robyn's states of waking and sleeping.

"Uncle Sportacus, why am I here? What happened?" Robyn asked weakly.

"You had an accident, sweetie. Don't you remember?"

"I remember something. I went to the bathroom, when I left I heard a noise. I went back into the bathroom. I went back into the bathroom." Robyn's words quickened as more and more of the memory of what had happened came flooding back, "there was writing on the mirror and a bloody hand print. There was a name written on the mirror and a bloody hand print next to it,"

"What was the name?"

Robyn's eyes darted about wildly when she remembered and a cold chill ran through Sportacus.

"Lily," Robyn screamed and cried at the same time. She began thrashing wildly in the bed.

Two nurses alerted by the noise came rushing into the room, one tried to hold Robyn still while the other prepared a sedative. The nurse holding Robyn managed to hold her still long enough for the sedative to be administered and it took affect immediately. The nurses were about to depart when Doctor Nichols came running into the room, he'd been alerted as to the situation by a third nurse.

"What happened?" Doctor Nichols looked at the two nurses waiting for an explanation.

"We heard her screaming and came in. She was thrashing in the bed as if caught in some hysteria. I administered a sedative whilst my colleague here held her down." Explained the first.

At Doctor Nichols' nod the two nurses left and Doctor Nichols turned to Sportacus who was obviously very shaken by what he'd just seen and had been told.

"Sportacus. What did Robyn say? You asked her what happened, didn't you?" Doctor Nichols sat on his haunches and waited for Sportacus to respond.

Sportacus recounted what Robyn had said to him, there was more to what had happened but he didn't yet know the rest. Something told him he didn't want to.

Doctor Nichols looked down, with this recent development he had no choice but do what he had to, "I'm very sorry Sportacus. I'm going to have to make that referral. Robyn is very sick and she needs to be treated by the only people that can look after her properly. As her next of kin you can object but please bare in mind that if we wait too long with sending Robyn to the safe house her chances of a full recovery are slim. Do I have your permission to sign the papers?"

Sportacus put his head in his hands. He didn't want this but it had to be done. Unable to say the word Sportacus nodded and he felt Doctor Nichols get up and heard him leave the room.

Sportacus took his head out of his hands and looked at Robyn. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he clasped Robyn's hand in his.

"I'm sorry," Sportacus whispered and laid his head on the pillow, sobs shaking his body.


	3. Blood and Candy

The Mayor shifted uncomfortably in his bed. He couldn't sleep; he was too worried about Robyn and Sportacus. Sportacus hadn't yet called which could only mean that Robyn was in a bad way. Deciding that he wouldn't get anymore sleep this night the Mayor got up and decided to clean up the mess in the bathroom before anyone else got up and trod on the glass.

The Mayor opened the bathroom door gently and dropped the bucket of water he was holding in his hand when he saw that there was no glass on the floor. The mirror was as it had been and nothing was out of place. He couldn't believe it, what had happened? Had the mirror really broken injuring Robyn?

The Mayor looked down to see the extent of the damage he'd made by dropping the bucket and almost hit the floor in shock when he saw there was blood on the floor instead of water. He couldn't understand what had happened, he had put water in the bucket and it had come out as blood. The blood had spread to cover nearly the whole floor and seemed to bubble in places as if it was boiling. The Mayor watched in horror as the blood boiled on the floor, it moved towards him. He tried to run but as he turned to leave the bathroom the door slammed shut and wouldn't open. The Mayor tried desperately to open the door but it wouldn't budge. The blood moved faster towards him its boiling heat filling the room.

The Mayor gave up trying to open the door and started banging desperately on it and shouting in hope that someone would wake up and try to get him out. Over the roar of the boiling blood the Mayor heard maniacal laughter which grew in volume as the blood engulfed him.

The Mayor sat bolt upright in bed waking Bessie. Bessie turned on the light and saw the Mayor looking rather pale and trembling.

"Milford, what's wrong?" Bessie asked stroking the Mayor's cheek.

The Mayor came to himself at Bessie's touch and held her hand, "I had a bad dream that's all."

"Do you want to tell me about it? It helps."

The Mayor smiled faintly and squeezed Bessie's hand, "its fine. Nothing worth mentioning really."

"Are you sure?" Bessie pressed.

"I'm sure. Come, we need some sleep tonight or we'll be worth nothing in the morning."

With this the Mayor laid back down and Bessie had no choice but to turn off the light and go back to sleep. She'd ask again in the morning.

Whilst the Mayor was having his nightmare Ziggy was also struggling to pin down sleep. He'd woken earlier in the night from his own nightmare which had put him off candy permanently. Even though Ziggy was now twenty two years old his penchant for candy had only reduced a little and he still had his favourite giant lollypop. Reluctantly Ziggy recounted his dream in his mind, there had to be some meaning to it.

Ziggy had found himself as a child in something of a candy world. Everything was edible and he had had the time of his life eating every single bit of candy he could find. The only problem with this bountiful gift was that the more Ziggy ate the hungrier he got. All Ziggy could do was eat and eat, he tried to stop but his stomach would roar like an erupting volcano and more and more food would appear in front of him.

By the time that Ziggy had eaten a mountain of candy which was the size of a lighthouse the dream started taking a very nasty turn.

The sky in the candy world went black and boiled sweets fell from the sky like hail stones. The sweets got bigger and bigger and hit Ziggy continuously. Ziggy tried to run away from the candy hail and into some shelter but couldn't, all the candy he'd eaten had made him grotesquely obese and his legs wouldn't carry him. As best as he could Ziggy stumbled down a marshmallow road and saw a sea of melted chocolate swelling some distance ahead. The hail of candy continued to beat relentlessly and with growing force.

As the storm went on the candy hail fell with such a force it cut Ziggy where it hit him. The size of the hail grew with time and eventually a piece of candy hail fell from the sky that was the size of a rock. Ziggy looked up just as the candy rock made contact with his head.

Ziggy shivered at the memory. The nightmare had seemed so real despite being in a candy world. As a child he'd always dreamed of a world made of candy, a world he ruled as a king and could eat as much as he wanted. Ziggy wasn't sure how all these years later the dream had come back and how it turned into something very nasty.

After an hour more of reflections upon his dream Ziggy finally managed to go to sleep again but he did so with caution. Ziggy hoped he'd never have another nightmare like the one he'd just had.

Meanwhile the cameras on the walls of Pixel's house picked up something walking across the town square. This something was unknown and unexpected. This something didn't belong in Lazytown.


	4. Haunted

Sportacus came back to Lazytown looking almost as pale as Robyn. When the residents saw the airship they all crowded underneath it, confused about what had happened and concerned for Robyn's welfare. None of them had slept much the previous night and had all heard what had happened to Robyn in the morning. Sportacus hadn't called the Mayor, Stephanie and Bessie like he said he would and it had worried them greatly.

The ladder fell from the airship and Sportacus climbed down it. He didn't want to share his news with them but he had to, they had a right to know and he'd promised to tell them what happened.

"Sportacus how's Robyn?" The Mayor asked as soon as Sportacus' feet touched the ground.

"She's not well. The hospital has treated her cuts and both her cheek and hand but they couldn't do anymore for her." Sportacus fought back fresh tears as he spoke.

"What do you mean? She's not-?" Bessie couldn't say the word.

"No. She was in extremely bad shock when I took her in and they haven't got the facilities to treat it. She was taken to the Crazytown safe house; it's the only place that can give her the treatment she needs."

A myriad of gasps were uttered from the small crowd. Everyone knew how bad Robyn's shock had to have been for her to be sent there. Each of them hoped that Robyn would make a full and quick recovery, the Crazytown safe house wasn't the best of places to be.

"Will we be able to visit her?" Ziggy asked. He felt extremely worried for Robyn.

"We have to wait a couple of days until she's settled in before anyone can go to see her. Only one person is allowed to see her at a time because of security purposes or something and there are strict visiting times." Sportacus answered.

"Do you know how long she has to stay there?" Bessie asked.

"They can't be sure. They're going to do all they can for her but apparently she has to come some of the way herself, she has to tell them what happened before they know what they're dealing with."

"Did she tell you what happened?" The Mayor asked.

"She tried. I know a part of what happened and it's strange. It doesn't make sense. I don't really want to think about it. What happened when you found Robyn?"

"We were woken up by Robyn screaming. We all got there at the same time and the door was jammed shut. Stephanie kicked the door open and we saw that the bathroom mirror was broken. It looked like the mirror had been broken from the inside and there was glass all over the floor. I don't know how to explain it." Bessie said.

"This might seem far fetched but I have something you might want to see. It might explain things a little better," Pixel spoke up and found all eyes fixed on him.

"What is it?" Sportacus asked.

"Come to my house and I can show you. I have to warn you that it's pretty freaky."

Everyone followed Pixel back to his house. They climbed the stairs into Pixel's bedroom and at his instruction positioned themselves to they could see the screens on the monitor wall. When Pixel was sure everyone was ready he turned on the monitors and displayed what he himself had watched that morning with great disbelief. The film showed what the cameras had picked up during the night and it shocked everyone who watched it.

A shadow drifted slowly across the town. A slight breeze disturbed everything it walked past. The shadow seemed to circle the town and the cameras followed its every movement. The shadow moved slowly towards the Mayor's house and paused outside the door. The camera zoomed in as the shadow turned at looked straight at the camera that was watching it. The shadow smiled a slow, evil smile and the picture went blank.

The shadow was Lily.

The monitors came on again and everyone watched as Lily yet again circled the town. She drifted towards Ziggy's house and to Ziggy's and everyone's amazement entered the house also. Lily left the house what seemed minutes later and circled the town again especially concentrating on the spot where she'd lost her life. Lily then entered the Mayor's house yet again and the monitors went blank again.

"The first film was shot at the exact same time as Robyn was injured. I'd estimate that Lily entered the house to break the mirror and attacked Robyn. The second film was shot two hours later. I don't know how to explain this but I've checked and double checked the tapes and cameras and what you saw is real." Pixel explained.

"How can Lily be walking around the town? She's been dead twelve years. Dead people do not enter people's houses and attack people." Sportacus found it hard to believe the tapes.

"Don't you think I know that? The only thing I can think of saying is she's a ghost. Was anyone else attacked when Lily entered their houses? Ziggy? Mayor?" Pixel looked at each person as he spoke to them.

The Mayor thought it was time to tell them about his bad dream, "I had a nightmare about that time. It was a very bad one and I'd rather not go into details. One thing I can say is that I heard a really evil laugh during it which reminded me distinctly of Lily's."

"I had a nightmare too," joined Ziggy, "it didn't have Lily in it and no laughter but it was bad as well."

"The Mayor and Ziggy aren't the only ones that had a nightmare. I had one too and mine did feature Lily. I don't want to talk about my nightmare as it was extremely bad and I'd also rather not think about it." Sportacus explained.

"Why would Lily be doing this?" The Mayor asked.

"Revenge. She can't attack us physically anymore so she's attacking us mentally." Sportacus answered.

"If that's so how come Robyn got hurt physically?" Pixel asked not liking the possible answer.

A sudden dreadful realisation hit Sportacus and he ran out of the room. Everyone followed as best they could but Sportacus was already in the airship and flying away.

Ziggy had the same realisation but spoke it out loud in a fearful tone, "If Lily can go into people's houses and hurt Robyn physically she can get to her anywhere. Robyn's in grave danger."


	5. Safe House

The Crazytown safe house was an oppressive building built out of three units. The first unit was a low security unit for those people who had minor mental difficulties and impairment. It housed psychologists and a day unit for any that needed them. The doors had no locks and residents were allowed to roam free with minimal supervision.

The second unit housed the medium security residents. These included obsessive compulsives, depressives, mildly aggressive and unstable people. There were patrols in this unit every five minutes. Locks were optional on doors according to a risk assessment. Residents were supervised a little more than those in the first unit and main common rooms were rare.

The third unit was the maximum security unit and housed the most degenerate residents. These residents included the most unstable of people, multi personality disorder sufferers, psychos, people on suicide risk and extremely aggressive patients. Most of these people were kept sedated for most of their stay despite round the clock patrols. There would often be screams piercing the air at night from those who reality had abandoned completely and left under the blanket of madness. Lily herself had been housed in the unit and her name was infamous amongst those who had wits enough to know her.

Robyn had been placed in the medium security unit as a cautionary measure. She was supervised by a nurse who tended her cuts and helped her with dressing and washing as Robyn was still in a near withdrawn state.

Robyn was in the bath and her nurse tended her. She was sitting as still and silent as a statue still lost in the realm of unending torment she'd been thrown into by her attack. The nurse had tried her best to engage Robyn in conversation but received no answer. One thing she was glad of was that Robyn cooperated with everything and assisted her as best she could in getting the tasks done.

"The water's getting cold now. We'd best get you out and dry. Once we've done that we can go out in the garden and see all the pretty flowers. You like flowers don't you?" The nurse asked gently helping Robyn out of the bath.

While the nurse dried her off Robyn's eyes fell on the mirror on the wall in front of her. She looked at her own reflection and her eyes widened when she saw the reflection change and age a little. She knew the face in the mirror but didn't know from where. Robyn's eyes widened even more when the face smiled at her and then changed back into her own. Robyn felt strange but couldn't put her finger on why.

"Come, stop staring at that mirror you vain thing. Let's get you dressed." The nurse scolded lightly.

"Yes. Get dressed and go outside," Robyn answered slowly and distractedly her eyes still fixed on the mirror.

The nurse looked up at Robyn with great surprise, "why, those are the first words you've said since you got here. The Doctor shall be most pleased when he reads my report."

"Report?"

"Nothing for you to worry yourself with. It's just a progress report so the Doctor knows how you're doing."

Robyn nodded. She still felt extremely strange and didn't know what was wrong with her. The nurse helped her dress and seemed to notice that something was wrong with Robyn. The girl was trembling slightly and her skin was as cold as ice. Before the nurse could hit the alarm button Robyn fell to the ground as if in a faint. The nurse felt for Robyn's pulse and was worried as the pulse seemed to fluctuate between going fast and slow. The nurse stood up to press the alarm button and stifled a scream when Robyn sat up; her eyes had changed from their normal light blue to a much darker blue. Robyn cocked her head to one side and smiled something of a mocking smile. The nurse was frozen to the spot in fear and couldn't move a muscle. Robyn stood up with deliberate slowness in an act of intimidation. Before the nurse could stop her Robyn threw the nurse against a wall, the nurse's head made impact with the wall and she fell to the ground unconscious. Robyn went over to the bathroom window and effortlessly broke the safety chains which prevented the window from being opened too far. After she had opened the window Robyn dragged the now stirring nurse to it. Picking her up with unknown strength Robyn pushed the nurse out of the window; the nurse came to in time to scream before she hit the ground.

The scream had alerted a member of staff on the floor below and when they saw the body of the nurse on the ground they pressed the alarm button and ran down the stairs out onto the grounds. A multitude of other people ran to see what the commotion was and formed a crowd around the now dead nurse.

Robyn opened the bathroom door slowly and peeked out. Once she was sure the coast was clear she left the room and walked down the corridor. With all the commotion of the nurse being found dead no one noticed Robyn slip out of a back door in the minimum security unit.

'That was too easy,' Robyn thought to herself with pride. By the time anyone checked the bathroom to try and find her she would be well away from the safe house and on her way to her destination.

Lazytown.


	6. Darkness Falls To A Tune

Sportacus arrived at the Crazytown safe house just as the commotion over the dead nurse had abated somewhat. As soon as his feet touched the ground from the ladder he was greeted by Doctor Nichols. He was surprised to see Doctor Nichols there and was surprised to see the man looking stressed. Before he could open his mouth to speak Doctor Nichols grabbed his arm and dragged him forcefully away from the crowd and into a quiet part of the gardens.

"We have a problem. You saw that crowd when you came in didn't you? That crowd is there because a nurse fell from a third storey window onto the ground. The nurse was giving Robyn a bath just before whatever happened, happened. The problem is that we can't find Robyn. We're not assuming anything until we know the facts. Patrols have looked all over this place for Robyn and there's been no sign of her. She must have got out unnoticed in the commotion." Doctor Nichols explained quietly.

"What do you mean when you say 'we're not assuming anything until we know the facts'?"

"The window had safety chains on the bottom to stop it opening too far for safety and security purposes. Those chains were broken somehow and the last person to see Robyn was that nurse. There's nothing underneath the window for anyone to stand on and nothing can be moved. I don't want to think any more than you do that Robyn pushed her."

"What are we going to do? We have to find her!"

"There is no sign of here. The whole building has been searched from top to bottom and the grounds as well. I'm no psychologist but there's only one place I can think she'd head to."

"Where?"

"Home."

At that word Sportacus ran for the ladder of the airship and found himself closely pursued by Doctor Nichols.

"You're not going without me. You know something, I can tell. You can tell me it on the way." Doctor Nichols climbed the ladder after Sportacus.

A lone girl walked into the Crazytown/Lazytown tunnel. She sang a haunting melody as she walked. The sound reverberated off the walls of the tunnel and added an extra element to it. The sound echoed out of the tunnel and could be heard in both the towns the tunnel connected. No one knew where the song was coming from but it sent a chill down the spines of all that heard it. As the song continued the light faded and an early darkness fell all around. The haunting words sung again and again:

_You thought I'd gone but I've returned,_

_I'll have the revenge for which I've yearned._

_Sleep with fear in your beds,_

_For I own your sleeping heads._

_You thought I'd gone but I've returned,_

_I have the life force for which I've yearned._

_Once I've fulfilled my blood lust,_

_Your town will be nought but dust._

The siren's song was interrupted by the honk of a car horn and she turned to see who had done it. A car pulled up alongside her and she stopped walking. The driver's side window was lowered and she looked inside at the driver. The driver was a young, well built man and seemed to be extremely pleased with the beautiful young lady he'd caught the attention of.

"You want a lift?" The man asked indicating his car.

"If you can give me one." Robyn answered smiling a sly smile.

"Where are you headed?"

"Lazytown."

"You're in luck, I'm heading that way. I can drop you off in the outskirts of the town as I'm not stopping there."

Robyn's smile grew, "that will do nicely."

With that Robyn walked around to the passenger's side of the car and got in. This was going to be easier than she thought it would.

Sportacus had almost finished filling Doctor Nichols in with what the residents of Lazytown had seen in Pixel's bedroom when they heard a strange song seemingly coming from nowhere. Both men trembled with fear when they heard the words of the song as clearly as if someone was singing it in the airship. Doctor Nichols gasped in shock when he saw the sky turn black, Sportacus turned from looking at Doctor Nichols to look at the windows and he gasped as well.

Bessie dropped her mug of coffee in shock when she heard the song that was being sung. She knew that voice from somewhere and when the sky grew dark her fear escalated. She looked to the others in the room and they all shared her fear. Something was dreadfully wrong.

No one calmed down when the song was stopped suddenly. The sky remained black and the air had grown cold. Even though the doors and windows in the town hall were shut tight an ice cold draft ran through it and shifted papers on desks. There wasn't one person out of the Mayor, Bessie, Ziggy, Pixel, Trixie, Stephanie and Stingy that didn't want to run and cower under their beds until whatever was coming to Lazytown had left again.

A light blue car was parked on the outskirts of town. The engine was still running but the handbrake had been engaged and the car was going nowhere. There was no passenger in it despite the passenger door being open and only the driver remained. He was a young, well built man.


	7. Doctor Nichols?

As Doctor Nichols climbed down the ladder of the airship something attracted his notice to a light blue car. The car was stationary but the engine was still running. He tried to spot if anyone was inside it but could only see the open passenger side door. His curiosity piqued, Doctor Nichols climbed down the ladder faster and ran over to the car, and Sportacus followed him not knowing what Doctor Nichols was doing.

Doctor Nichols reached the car before Sportacus and looked inside. Sportacus stopped running when he saw Doctor Nichols draw back from the car in a state of horror. Without looking into the car himself he knew there was something terrible in the car.

Doctor Nichols gasped for air and fought the bile that rose in his throat. His heart raced like a train. In all his years as a Doctor he'd never seen anything like this. Something told him he had to get away from the car and fast. Before either he or Sportacus knew what was going on he took a dead run for the town with Sportacus close on his heels.

The two men hadn't been running long when they were thrown to the ground by the force of an explosion. When they'd both picked themselves up from the ground they looked around and saw a grotesque looking black shell where the car had been. Without a second thought both men ran for the town.

Everyone in the town hall jumped out of their skins at the sound of an explosion. By the volume of it they could tell it had happened close and each of them hoped it wasn't Sportacus' airship. The inhabitants of the town hall received a further shock when the door flew open just minutes after the explosion but were relieved to see Sportacus seemingly unharmed and a stranger with him.

Before anyone could ask who the stranger was the stranger introduced himself, "I'm Doctor Nichols. I work at the Greentown hospital and was Robyn's Doctor when she was brought there."

Everyone shook Doctor Nichols' hand and introduced themselves.

"What did you see in that car?" Sportacus asked looking at Doctor Nichols.

Doctor Nichols pallor faded a little at the question and he sat down in the nearest chair. Everyone walked over to him with concern but he raised his hand to halt them signalling that he would be fine. When everyone was standing still again Doctor Nichols lowered his hand and reached into a pocket in his jacket pulling out a pill bottle. He opened the bottle and removed three tablets before putting the bottle back in his pocket and removed a hip flask from his belt. Everyone watched him with confused concern as he swallowed the pills and then replaced the hip flask.

"I have a heart condition. The pills are the only things keeping me alive to be perfectly honest," Doctor Nichols said in answer to everyone's questioning expressions.

All in the room nodded each feeling somehow sad for this poor weakened man in the corner.

"As for your question, Sportacus, I don't know how describe what was in that car without upsetting people. The only thing I can say is that the driver of the car was facing forwards but his head wasn't." Doctor Nichols explained.

"Oh my," Bessie gasped knowing exactly what Doctor Nichols meant.

It wasn't long before everyone else figured it out and all had a disgusted look on their face. Doctor Nichols nodded understanding everyone's feelings.

All had been silent in the town hall for some time now. Everyone was reflecting on the past night, nightmares and the events of today. The sky was still black and a cold chill ran through the room. It was hard for everyone to believe that it was two in the afternoon, at this time the sun should be shining and the weather warm. They would also be feeling safe and happy. Instead of this everyone was cowering in the town hall, cold, miserable and fearing for their lives. An unknown force was coming to destroy them and had killed two people already.

The Mayor looked around the room and his eyes fell on Doctor Nichols who was sitting awkwardly in his chair, "Doctor Nichols?" Asked the Mayor, wearily.

Everyone looked at the Mayor when he spoke and then to Doctor Nichols who looked to be asleep. Stephanie aware of the heart condition Doctor Nichols had spoken of stood up; she was worried that the Doctor was in an unending sleep provided by eternity. She walked over to the Doctor and placed her hand on his shoulder, luckily his skin was warm to her touch and he stirred waking up. Doctor Nichols looked up into Stephanie's face and saw a trace of concern there; he looked at the others in the room and saw the same concern in their faces. Looking back at Stephanie Doctor Nichols smiled reassuringly and patted her hand. Stephanie smiled in response and drew back a little.

"Are you ok?" The mayor asked.

Doctor Nichols raised his eyebrows and a wry smile touched his lips, "aside from dying, yes."

"How long have you been dying?"

"From the very moment I was diagnosed with this heart condition. It's degenerative and will never get better. The medication helps keep things stabilised and I've been told 'any day now' for the last five years. It defeats me how I survived the shock from what I saw in the car and the run to the town, guess I'm just lucky."

"Doesn't it ever scare you?" Trixie asked intrigued.

"It used to. I wouldn't move for days for fear of my heart giving way and then I decided that if I had limited time to live I was wasting it by worrying and that I'd use my time to the full. I know now that if I hadn't stopped worrying I wouldn't be alive today. Don't worry about what's going to happen, take fate head on and dance with it. Forget bad things and move on with the good, make every moment special and enjoy the company of others, even those you dislike because when you're dead you have no company. Will someone slap me because I'm preaching?"

Everyone laughed glad of the relief in their sombre moods. Their lifted moods were cut short by the resuming of the song they had heard before. Doctor Nichols got out of his chair and stretched as he walked over to the window. His eyes searched the darkness for any kind of movement outside. Something caught his eye after several moments of searching and without a word to anyone left the building closing the door behind him. The others tried to go out after him but the door was jammed shut and wouldn't open despite the efforts of several people trying to open it.

Doctor Nichols wrapped his jacket around him as the cold air touched him. He found the darkness somewhat companionable but none the less it was dangerous, the shadow of evil. He walked towards the spot he'd seen through the window. It didn't take him long to reach it and he knelt down when he came to it. It was the place Lily had lost her life; the hole hadn't been filled in but had been covered with a plain slab stone. Doctor Nichols was surprised to see that the slab was broken and lifted the pieces from the hole.

He could see something in the hole, it was moving and he leant in for a closer look. With great caution he stuck his hand into the hole and pulled it out when his hand felt wet, it was covered with blood. Doctor Nichols made to stand up but before he could move two arms grabbed his shoulders and pulled him head first into the hole. He struggled against the arms but they were too strong. They pulled him deeper and deeper and he tried to scream but his lungs filled with the blood and his struggles ceased.

"Doctor Nichols?" the question was repeated but would never receive an answer. It was too late for that.


	8. Last Chance to Act

Doctor Nichols was laid on the floor near a wall with a blanket placed onto him. His body was still warm but was rapidly losing heat. It had come to a great shock to everyone but no one had to ask what had killed him. He'd fallen prey to the nightmares that affected them all but hadn't had the strength to wake up. Bessie carefully placed one of Robyn's flowers on the man's chest and then walked away to sit down.

Sportacus sat glumly in the far corner of the town hall; he should have been able to prevent all this. He should have known that Robyn was being attacked but something was blocking the power of his crystal and he was as clueless as everyone when danger occurred. Something inside him told him he had to stop this, whatever it was. People were dying and it was more than likely that he and his friends would die too. He didn't know what it was he had to fight and hoped things would turn out right.

"I know what you're thinking, Sportacus. Come and do what you desire or I'll come to you." A familiar sing song voice called from the darkness.

Everyone looked at everyone else in total shock, they all knew that voice and had never expected to hear it again. No one was more shocked than Sportacus and this was all he needed to make up his mind. No one protested as he ran out of the town hall and into the enveloping darkness.

He looked around with a great amount of caution as he stalked through the darkness, the street lights weren't lit and he couldn't see very far ahead of him. He had to stifle a scream when he felt a touch on his shoulder; he whirled around to see who had touched him.

"Robyn?" Sportacus asked in a hushed whisper.

"Not quite," The sing song voice answered slowly.

"Lily!"

"Correct. Unfortunately Robyn isn't here right now. It's just me in this body that's available for conversation."

"How?"

"The girl has a special ability. She can see and hear those that are no longer of this world. First of all the spirits appeared as mere flickers, as the years went on they turned into shadows. Soon those shadows will become solid form. All she was able to hear was whispers but eventually the sounds became clearer and as the shadows become solid forms the whispers will be at their clearest. This ability has left her vulnerable to any that seek to exploit it as I have done. The door was unlocked and all I had to do was open it, the direct bloodline between us is the key. Now I can have the revenge I have desired for so long. I knew the brat would come in handy some day." Lily's voice became more and more excited the more she explained what was happening.

"You're responsible for the nightmares aren't you?"

"Yes. It was the only way I could get to any of you before I was able to take over the brat's body. The Doctor was the last victim of my nightmares; he knew too much and was getting in the way."

"The man in the car?"

"A mere convenience that had worn out its usefulness. The nurse was an obstacle that had to be removed; she was also my ticket out of that 'safe house'."

Sportacus couldn't understand what he was hearing, he didn't want to understand. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't fight Lily because he'd hurt Robyn but he also couldn't let his friends be killed.

"What a conundrum. Hurt me, hurt Robyn. Do nothing, your friends die. Such a difficult decision to make, brother." Lily's voice mocked. "You needn't worry, I'll have my revenge soon enough. I'll destroy this town and your friends."

Robyn/Lily walked closer to Sportacus and a wicked smile touched her lips, a smile Sportacus hoped he would never see his niece smile, "But first I'll start with you,"

With unnatural strength Robyn punched through Sportacus' ribs and tore his heart out. Sportacus fell to the ground as if in slow motion and the last thing he saw was Robyn smiling down at him.

With a silent scream Sportacus bolted upright in bed, sweat drenching him and his sheets. His breath came in rapid gasps and he was trying very hard to calm down. He tried feebly to shake off the nightmare he'd just had but the very thought of it made him tremble.


End file.
